Former Cat Dale Brown heading to Clark Atlanta

To call Dale Brown well-traveled is to put it mildly.

Since finishing his pro basketball career and returning to the University of Kentucky to obtain his college degree in 2003, Brown has had nine coaching jobs in eight years. The Pascagoula native was named head coach at Clark Atlanta University on Wednesday, his second job in less than a month.

But Brown said via telephone on Wednesday that he's planning on putting down roots in Atlanta. He's asked fellow Jackson County basketball legend Litterial Green of Moss Point to join his coaching staff, along with former Kentucky teammate Tony Delk.

"I feel great about it," Brown said. "This is a job I've pursued for a while now."

Brown worked everywhere from the independent professional ranks to Moss Point High School in his first six years as a coach, leading the Tigers to a 32-6 record in 2008. That led to his first college head-coaching job at Dillard University of New Orleans, where he went 22-59 in three seasons.

Like several schools in that city, Dillard's infrastructure and alumni base were devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Brown said he simply did not have the resources to put together a winning program.

Brown accepted the job at Meridian Community College on June 10, but never signed a contract with the Eagles before CAU came calling. He said the MCC administration showed understanding about his brief tenure.

"I couldn't be successful at Dillard, because I didn't have the scholarships to bring in players," Brown said. "I played with walk-on guys the whole time I was there. The people at Meridian were great.



I just told them it was a bigger city and a better place to recruit out of, and they understood."

Though he's now based several hours away from the coast in Atlanta, Brown still plans on holding his annual Dale Brown Boys and Girls Basketball Camp July 7-9. The camp will take place at Pascagoula High School for the first time after spending its first three years in Ocean Springs.

"I'm really happy to have the camp in my hometown," said Brown, who added that Green and fellow former Moss Point star Leroy Hurd are expected to appear as guest speakers at the camp. "I'm looking forward to it. It's something I enjoy doing every summer, coming back home and working with these kids, teaching them about basketball and avoiding some of the obstacles life throws at you."

Clark Atlanta, a historically black university, is a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which also includes the likes of Tuskegee, Kentucky State and Albany State. CAU won the SIAC basketball tournament in 2011, but lost to Alabama-Huntsville in the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament.

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